Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what consideration her Department has given to using SEND resources to fund increased staffing and provision at mainstream schools; and if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of doing so on the number of children who would remain in mainstream education.
Answered by Georgia Gould - Minister of State (Education)
The department is committed to improving inclusivity and expertise in mainstream schools, ensuring teachers have the tools to better identify and support children before unmet needs escalate, as well as ensuring specialist special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and alternative provision schools cater to those with the most complex needs.
On 12 December, the government announced a £3 billion investment to deliver around 50,000 specialist places for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities. The funding will be distributed to local authorities for them to spend on new places in mainstream settings (including SEN units), on adaptations to mainstream settings to make them more inclusive, or on special schools where required.
We will bring forward a full Schools White Paper in the new year, underpinned by our belief that high standards and inclusion are two sides of the same coin.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent diplomatic steps she has taken to help return Ukrainian children abducted by Russia.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the answer provided on 20 October 2025 in response to Question 80930, and I would add that - on 3 December - the UK co-sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution for the 'Return of Ukrainian Children'.
I also refer the Hon Member to the answers provided by the Foreign Secretary during departmental questions on 2 December.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions she had with her French counterpart on nuclear support to NATO.
Answered by Stephen Doughty - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary regularly speaks to her French counterpart, including on matters relating to NATO defence. The NATO Strategic Concept states that the independent strategic nuclear forces of the United Kingdom and France have a deterrent role of their own and contribute significantly to the overall security of the Alliance. The UK and French separate centres of decision-making contribute to deterrence by complicating the calculations of potential adversaries.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps she has taken to seize frozen Russian assets and use them to resource Ukraine.
Answered by Lucy Rigby - Economic Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Government remains determined to ensure Russia is held accountable for the damage it has caused, and continues to cause, in Ukraine.
We will continue work and coordinate with G7 and EU partners to ensure that Ukraine gets the funding it needs, ensuring any options developed by the Government are in line with international law.
We continue to pledge that Russia's sovereign assets will remain immobilised until they cease the war and pay compensation to Ukraine.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of issuing guidance to Independent Care Boards on the commissioning of providers for audiology care as an alternative to hospital services.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock - Minister of State (Department of Health and Social Care)
In line with the direction of travel set by 10-Year Health Plan, we expect integrated care boards (ICBs) to commission services to meet the reasonable needs of their populations rather than being prescriptive and adopting a one size fit all model for England. This is intended to allow services to be tailored in accordance with the local area needs. This means that National Health Service audiology services are locally commissioned.
We have also published for the first time an overview of the core community health services, Standardising Community Health Services, which includes audiology, that ICBs should consider when planning for their local populations to support improved commissioning and delivery of community health services.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to support children’s educational content creators on online platforms.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting high-quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content, and the considerable benefits it brings. The popularity of online services, including video-sharing platforms, means there is now more choice than ever for young audiences. The Government is engaging with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high-quality content. We want to ensure children’s programming is easily accessible, and continues to inform, educate, and entertain young people into the future.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 93580 on Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services, which external stakeholders his Department is engaging with in the development of the modern service framework for mental health.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to publish the modern service framework for severe mental illness in the latter half of 2026.
Engagement on the modern service framework will involve a wide range of stakeholders, such as people with lived experience, clinicians, allied professionals, social workers, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, commissioners, and National Health Service Leaders. We have recruited a third Co-Chair for the Modern Service Framework, Jo Lomani, who is a national mental health co-production lead and expert by lived and living experience, to support the implementation of our lived-experience involvement and co-production strategy. This aims to ensure that people who use mental health services stay at the centre of everything we do.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2025 to Question 93580 on Eating Disorders: Mental Health Services, when the Government expects to publish the modern service framework for mental health.
Answered by Zubir Ahmed - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Department of Health and Social Care)
The Government plans to publish the modern service framework for severe mental illness in the latter half of 2026.
Engagement on the modern service framework will involve a wide range of stakeholders, such as people with lived experience, clinicians, allied professionals, social workers, the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector, commissioners, and National Health Service Leaders. We have recruited a third Co-Chair for the Modern Service Framework, Jo Lomani, who is a national mental health co-production lead and expert by lived and living experience, to support the implementation of our lived-experience involvement and co-production strategy. This aims to ensure that people who use mental health services stay at the centre of everything we do.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to ensure that online platforms offer children diversity of content.
Answered by Ian Murray - Minister of State (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology)
The Government is committed to supporting high-quality, culturally relevant, UK-made children’s content, and the considerable benefits it brings. The popularity of online services, including video-sharing platforms, means there is now more choice than ever for young audiences. The Government is engaging with creators, producers, broadcasters, and video-sharing platforms to see how they can work more closely together to surface UK-made, high-quality content. We want to ensure children’s programming is easily accessible, and continues to inform, educate, and entertain young people into the future.
Asked by: Cameron Thomas (Liberal Democrat - Tewkesbury)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether her Department plans to develop a UK major events strategy.
Answered by Stephanie Peacock - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
The UK is a world-class host for major events, and the government is investing in a decade-long pipeline to drive economic growth and community impact.
Support for sporting events is already established through the Gold Framework. Additionally, DCMS will launch a new Visitor Economy Growth Strategy next year to strengthen the business events industry and enhance the UK's global competitiveness.
The Department welcomes the CMS Select Committee Inquiry into major events and continues to engage with industry to address challenges and identify further opportunities for collaboration and growth.